The present invention generally relates to a device for allowing a telephone user to selectively answer a phone call without picking up the handset of the telephone.
A regular desktop telephone as shown in FIG. 3 of the attached drawings comprises a telephone body 10 and a handset 11 removably received in a cradle formed in the telephone body 10. A cable 14 connects the handset 11 to the telephone body 10. The telephone is connected to a public exchange station by a subscriber line 13 whereby a signal may be transmitted from the public exchange station to the telephone. A user may answer a phone call by picking up the handset 11. This action requires using the user""s hand. This may cause certain problems if the user is using both his or her in for example operating a computer.
It is thus desirable to provide a device for allowing a user to answer a phone call without hand holding a handset of a telephone so as to overcome the problems mentioned above.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a hand free telephone picking up device which allows a user to answer a phone call without picking up the handset with hands.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device which allows a user to selectively answering a phone call by hand picking up the handset or by using a headset.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a hand free telephone picking up device which allows general consumers to install with a regular telephone without factory modification of the telephone.
To achieve the above objects, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a hand free telephone picking up device for allowing a user to pick up a telephone handset without using his or her hands is disclosed. The hand free telephone picking up device comprises a control unit having a control circuit arranged inside a casing. The control circuit is connected between a telephone and a handset of the telephone. A first activation key is provided on the control unit for allowing signal received by the telephone to be passed to the handset so as to allow the user to answer a phone call by hand picking up the handset. The control unit has a signal receiving/transmitting device which is coupled, via electromagnetic waves, to a counterpart receiving/transmitting device arranged in a headset. A second activation key is formed on the headset whereby the user may actuate the second activation key for allowing signals received by the telephone to be passed to the headset. A handset raising device comprising a solenoid is electrically coupled to the control unit whereby when the second activation key is actuated, the solenoid raises the handset to allow signals to be received by the telephone and then transmitted to the headset.